"Please tell me you weren't about to jump, Trina? Please?" He asked almost desperately.
Why was Embry so concerned and how had he been close enough to pull me away from the edge?
"I—" I looked back out at the ocean with the storms quickly approaching. "I was going to..."
"Trina—"
"But I didn't. I changed my mind right before you pulled me back. Then the rock started to give way and you saved me." I finished. "Why are you here? Were you watching me? Does Jake have you tailing me or something?"
I watched as his expression changed to almost one of anger, then sadness.
"Jake doesn't know. He can't know." He spoke quietly, almost to himself. "I'm sorry, Trina. I need to—"
He tried to turn and leave but I grabbed onto his hand, preventing him from leaving. The electrical buzz returned. He turned and looked down at where my hand was holding his. What was happening?
"Why were you here, Embry?" I asked him more commandingly. "I want the truth."
He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair and down his face nervously.
"Can we take this away from the cliff at least? I can't—I need you to stay away from the edge. Even if you don't want to jump, you're still extremely clumsy and I can't risk you falling off. Please, I promise I'll explain everything...just not here." Embry nearly begged. I nodded to him and he pulled me toward the cover of the forest, only releasing my hand when we were far onto the path.
"Alright, I think we're far enough away. Are you going to explain now?" I asked him, needing to know what was happening.
He began pacing back and forth.
"Embry?" I asked, starting to get worried.
"I imprinted on you!" He blurted out. "When you confronted us at Jake's after you slapped Paul."
"Imprinted? What does that mean?" I asked him curiously, having only heard it from Jake when we'd spoken about it in my other life. I needed to hear it directly from Embry.
"It means that my entire being is connected to you. I'd do or be anything you want me to. Your safety and happiness are my first priority. My only priority." He explained, making my jaw drop.
Was this what the voice had meant about losing more than I knew I had? Embry's life was connected to mine? I was his first priority? Why hadn't he said anything before? It had been over a month since the encounter he'd mentioned.
"I wasn't going to say anything, but then you went and asked, and I couldn't lie to you. I can't lie to you." He continued.
"You weren't going to tell me that your life was connected to mine? Isn't that something that I should kind of know?" I questioned seriously. Had he imprinted on me and not said anything in the other life I'd lived before?
"I couldn't do that to Jake... it was okay as long as I stayed within proximity but not close enough for you to notice." He replied, looking downward.
"We'll come back to Jake. What did you mean by 'stayed within proximity'?" I asked.
"I couldn't—can't—be too far away from you for a long while. It would hurt us both." He mumbled quietly.
If he had imprinted on me in my other life, what would've happened to him if I'd gone through with the marriage or being changed? How had he been when I'd gotten back together with Edward? Should I tell him about what had happened to me? Would he think I was crazy?
I sat down on the forest floor, right where I'd been standing, perching my elbows on top of my bent knees and running my hands through my hair.
"What did you mean about Jake?" I asked, still trying to process the rest.
"He's my best friend, Trina. He's been in love with you for ages and I couldn't just stab him in the back by telling him I had imprinted on you." He said, sitting down himself.
"I'm not in love with Jacob. He's only my best friend and I've made it very clear to him that it's all he'll ever be. He has no sort of claim on me. If that were the case then he would have imprinted on me, not you. Obviously, he didn't. You're going to have to tell him, Embry. Wait, how did you keep it from him in the pack mind?" I questioned curiously.
"I had Sam alpha order me and the others not to think about it when Jake was phased in." He explained.
"We're going to have a talk about your selflessness later, but first there's something I feel like I need to tell you." I muttered nervously, wondering how I was going to approach it.
"You can tell me anything." He responded honestly. I took a deep breath.
"You're going to think I'm crazy, but I've lived this before, the next 6 months actually. Obviously not this version of it, because I never knew you imprinted on me..." I mumbled the last part.
"You've lived this before?" He asked, unsure.
"It's hard to explain. I don't know how it happened, but I was 6 months in the future and I was somehow brought back to just a minute before you pulled me back on the cliff. In my other life, I'd jumped." I told him, somehow sensing his panic at my words.
"You jumped?" He questioned with an unreadable expression.
"I wasn't trying to kill myself, if that's what you're wondering, even if I did almost die doing it." I replied quickly.
"You said 6 months in the future. Why were you 'brought back'?" He asked, diverting the conversation away from my near-death experience.
"There was a voice in my head right before you showed up. She told me things... I have to fix what I did wrong before. The voice said it wasn't my destiny to—" I cut myself off.
"To what?"
"To marry Edward Cullen." I replied.
His fists clenched and he looked away.
"You were going to marry him?" He asked me quietly.
"I was—It was the night before my wedding when I was brought back." I replied cautiously. His eyes were now closed.
"And after?"
I knew what he was asking me. Would I have been changed?
"I think you already know the answer to that." I muttered quietly, looking away from him.
Silence. Heartbreaking silence.
"Is that what you want?" He finally asked after a long while.
His voice sounded almost choked. I stood up and walked over to where he was sitting, taking a seat directly in front of him, reaching forward. I placed my hand under his chin and lifted upward to make him look at me. His eyes were misty and it made me instantly wonder how I hadn't known before. How could I have possibly been so selfish, wanting all of the aesthetics and immortality that being a vampire provided?
"I did... before." I replied honestly.
"Now?"
"Not anymore." I told him. "I was selfish. I can't- wont- be selfish anymore. I've realized that I have too much to live for."
"And If he comes back?" He asked, sounding more relieved than before, but still worried.
"That's not my destiny anymore. I hate to say that it took being brought back in time and a voice inside my head to realize that." I muttered. "Maybe I realized it before and just couldn't do anything about it... I don't know."
A howl rung out through the forest and Embry stood immediately.
"Stay here, I'll be right back." He told me before running off behind a tree. I walked closer and saw a beautiful dark gray wolf standing in the forest. He looked over at me and I walked forward, somehow knowing he wouldn't hurt me.
He stood absolutely still as I approached. I raised my hand to run my fingers over his muzzle and up behind his ear. His fur was softer than I imagined and he seemed to be leaning into my hand.
When I pulled away he made a motion for me to turn around and I did so, knowing that he was going to phase back.
"Trina?" He said, causing me to turn back around to face him where he was now standing with his shorts on. "You weren't afraid..."
"Of course I wasn't afraid. You might have been a wolf but you're still you, and I know that you'd never hurt me. I know not to get too close when you phase but after you've phased there's no danger." I told him honestly. "Now what was that about?"
He took a deep breath before answering. "Harry Clearwater had a heart attack. We also have two new pack members."
I already knew that Harry was gone.
"Seth and Leah." I replied and he nodded. "Harry didn't make it, did he?" He shook his head.
"You already knew that, didn't you?" He asked me.
"You believe me?" I knew it was a difficult story to believe.
"I trust you." He responded. I was in awe.